April's reading

[jmc_bks]

Two rereads, 15 new books, and 7 DNFs. The standout reads for me this month were Ilona Andrews' Magic Burns, which I loved despite some repetitive stuff that I could do without, and Sarah Cortez's poetry compilation, How to Undress A Cop.

Otherwise, I read a lot of average books, including some from series that I won't be continuing (MJD's YA series, Lara Adrian's Breeds), and other series that I'll continue with even if I don't hunt the books down on their release dates (Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series).


1. Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World by Dan Koeppel. NF. Fascinating.
2. Minerva by Marion Chesney. Reread.
3. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas. European historical, Victorian-set. B-/C+
4. Home Port by Nora Roberts. Contemporary, R/S. May have been a reread. C+
5. Midnight Rising by Lara Adrian. Paranormal, R/S. Book 4 of the series. Didn’t work for me as a romance novel. B-/C+
6. Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn. Victorian-set mystery. B
7. Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews. Urban fantasy. Second of the series. B/B+
8. Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light by MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi. YA urban fantasy. C
9. Dolphin Dreams by Jules Jones. M/M/M, paranormal, ebook. I have a lot to say about this, or at least I’ve thought about it a lot. B/B-
10. Beyond Breathless by Kathleen O’Reilly. Category. Loved the h/h in this book. A-
11. The Italian’s Defiant Mistress by India Grey. HP, debut. B-
12. Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend by Carrie Jones. YA. Picked it up because it was on the DA BWAHA. Liked it, felt a little disjointed and hurried. B
13. The Cry of the Dove by Fadia Faqir. General fiction. Mentioned here
14. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson. YA historical fiction. Liked the first 50% of the book; eh about the next 30%; hated the last 20%. I hope I like her other books better -- I bought several with the pretty new covers when they were first reissued. C
15. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig. Chick lit, contemporary and historical, fourth in a series. B-
16. Sunshine and Shadow by Sharon and Tom Curtis. Very dated contemporary. I think they are authors who are just not to my taste. A- for technical merit; C- for artistic merit.
17. How to Undress A Cop by Sarah Cortez. Poetry. A

Books I did not finished, because either I hated them or I just couldn't be arsed to keep turning the page:

18. Another One Bites the Dust by Jennifer Rardin. Didn't care for the first book, but wanted to give the series another try before writing off.
19. SEALed With A Kiss by Mary Daughtridge. Contemporary. The behavior of the characters showed them to be not what the author was telling me they were.
20. Beyond Daring by Kathleen O’Reilly. Category. The Paris Hilton heroine really got on my nerves.
21. Klondike Doctor by Kate Bridges. Canadian/American historical. Eh.
22. Forbidden Shores by Jane Lockwood. Caribbean set historical. Eh.
23. Nightcap by Kathleen O’Reilly. Category. Liked the heroine a lot; story felt strained by format.
24. Model Soldier by Cat Johnson. Contemporary, ebook. Hated the heroine; premise didn’t work for me.

Currently reading: Alan Weisman's The World Without Us. Picked up after watching the NG documentary on what would happen if humans disappeared. Weisman's spending a lot of time on evolution, extinct species, and human influence (better & worse) on geography, and how that will influence what may happen if we were all to suddenly disappear. Y'know, beyond just cities falling.

Comments

[miladyinsanity.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested in hearing more about what you have to say about Magic Burns.

I didn't care for Rardin. Picked one of them up, and would not have finished it, but I was in Hong Kong and English fiction was just too expensive.

You don't have a grade for Reilly's Beyond Breathless?

And what do the colors mean?

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I loved Beyond Breathless, so it was an A- for me. The minus because I felt a little impatient with the heroine at the end, and because the secondary characters were either cliches or series bait.

The first Rardin was a disappointment to me, but that was in part because of my reader expectations -- it was shelved as a romance, rather than straight urban fantasy. Only tried the second book to see if I liked the series better if I read without those expectations.

Magic Burns is another one of those books that is stuck in the back of my mind. I think I need to reread Magic Bites, then write about both of them at once. The blood mystery of the first book seemed pointless to me, but makes sense now; I think I've guessed the big secret about Kate's family/history, but want to know more. Some of her characterization seemed a little inconsistent to me though: she tells Curran that she doesn't have friends, then turns around and names Andrea so; she's a loner, but Julie is "her kid" immediately.

Sorry, forgot to post about the colors. Blue means I loved it and would recommend it to anyone. Green means I liked it a lot, and would probably recommend it if you like that particular subgenre or style. Red means that I actively disliked the book, rather than just being a book that I couldn't be bothered to finish.

[miladyinsanity.livejournal.com]

Hmm... across the pond, I've always seen Rardin shelved in fantasy--I think she's pubbed by Orbit.

Magic Bites was a book that grew on me, then Magic Burns just sort of continued the job. I beta read Magic Burns for her, and generally, I don't still love the book when I read the finished version, but I did. Damn, now I want to reread them too and it's exam time!

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

If I'd been paying attention to publisher, Orbit would've clued me in. But the local library and the bookstore both shelve Rardin in romance. Of course, they also shelve LKH as romance, so I should be more careful when selecting.

[carrielofty.livejournal.com]

I thought The World Without Us was just fascinating (http://lovelysalome.blogspot.com/2008/03/world-without-us-2007.html), for the breadth of scholarship if nothing else. His imagination and all the tangents he takes are amazing.

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

Thanks for the link!

[(Anonymous)]

Song for Summer is my least favorite Ibbotson so far (though it got the prettiest cover when they reissued them). It's been a while since I read it, but I do remember being frustrated by the ending. I wouldn't give up on her--especially if you liked the first part of SfS.

-jennie

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

It is a lovely cover, isn't it?

The Countess Below Stairs is next on my TBR pile, and it seems univerally well-liked. And then one with "swan" in the title, I think.